


Ronoue

by nighttjar



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), All Harry Potter Books, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Magic, Past Character Death, Past Torture, Past Violence, Teaching, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-07-20 02:16:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7386664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nighttjar/pseuds/nighttjar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Centuries after the punishment of a certain demon, he reappeared at Hogwarts' gates. Rin must honour his part of the bargain between him and his 'friend' Albus Dumbledore, by loyaly (as far as the chaotic teen is capable of that) working with him against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, whilst posing as a professor, teaching the students a new subject: demonology. </p><p>(Starts in the first year of Hogwarts; planning for multiple years; original story changes due to Rin's influence)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The New Teacher

**Author's Note:**

> This story comes directly from my ancient account on _that other site_. Four years have passed and I hope to have matured considerably, having improved my writing along the way.
> 
> May we all celebrate the coming of the animated Impure King arc in 2017.

It was raining. 

"As it always is, it's bloody England," cursed a dark-haired teen. He lifted his hoodie and looked upon a magnificent castle, one so big that it made the castle of Satan look like a puppet house. Not that he had actually personally seen it. Mephisto did once shown a miniature of the building, but Rin doubted it was supposed to be pink, or even remotely look like a castle of a fairy tale princess. He somehow did not take Satan for the 'fluffy' type. The teen knew he was late, not that it would matter now. He was supposed to had arrived at least two hours before the Sorting Ceremony would have started - whatever that was did he not know - but he was late, about ten minutes after said ceremony to be precise. It has been a while since he could stretch his legs again, so he had taken a detour. Yes, that was the reason. Not the fact that he was always late regardless.

He came across many interesting people and creatures - and sleeping places - so the trip took longer than it should have. He didn't look forward to going inside again, not after spending most of his life being inside - which wasn't his own choice, mind you.

Again, the teen took on a childish façade by cursing the weather and marched on. He followed some sort of road, from the station towards the castle, that lead around the lake. Another path appeared to take him right through said lake, making him believe there to - normally - be boats. Why use both a road and a boat trip though? The teen wondered about this for a while, but shrugged it off no longer than four seconds after. These people were crazy, he realized. After all... A wizard had come for him, he was certain he was forgotten by then. But apparently one little boy had remembered him - one little boy - and he came back years later, asking for a favour after having saved the demon. The teen enjoyed the walk, wobbly as the road was. It seemed to be used for carriages only. Lazy people they are as well. The boy knew that wizards couldn't do much, except the magic thing of course. But what did he know. Maybe some of them could swing a sword, or shoot a gun.

No, probably not. 

These wizards hardly walked anywhere! They all teleported, or "Apparited" was what they called it. He looked to his side when he saw something sneak by in the darkest forest he had ever seen. The creature smiled at the teen and waved, his childish face almost tomato-red in excitement. He waved back and the child seemed to glow in happiness, afterwards he galloped away ready to tell his parents of the encounter he had this evening. Surely, said parents would hold a feast that night.

Some minutes later he again came across something... weird. A gigantic black dog - not caring about the rain - which was guarding a small...hut?... The windows showed light and smoke rose out, showing that the place inside would be pretty warm. The dog looked at him and barked approvingly - for as far as dog can - and lazily went back to his sleep. Again, not minding the rain. Such a great guard, a sleeping one.

"Whut is 't, Fang!? Yer saw 'e Flesh-Eating Slug? Damn beast never stay 'way." A giant, or gigantic man, stepped out the hut, startled by the barking, and petted the dog, which appeared to be his. He then noted the teen staring at him. He lifted his hand at the boy and howled: "'Ey there, mate! Yer real late for the Ceremony! Get yer feet running faster!"

The teen shrugged and shook his head. He was late, yeah, but the Ceremony wasn't worth watching, he thought. Why split the students up anyway? He could understand that is was because of the difference in talents, desires and capability, but still.

What were the names of the houses again? He forgot...

The teen ignored the man - who had begun looking for Slugs - and walked on. No more creatures waved at him from the forest, but he knew he was being watched. Not the bad kind, though, more like anxious and excited. It was to be expected, he had some sort of reputation by now. He knocked on two large steel doors when he _finally_ arrived at the castle, which were almost immediately opened. An elderly woman stood before him and eyed him closely, then she extended her hand to show she wanted to shake his. He did as he was expected to and stepped inside, out of the rain.

"So, you're finally here. I shall go ahead and assume you were simply tardy today, and that this will not be the way the rest of the year will pass. Let's go in then, shall we?"

The teen nodded and he lowered the only recently lifted hoodie, revealing black hair, which had a faint tint of blue. The woman lifted her nose disapprovingly but only said: "You're not properly dressed," while disregarding the fact that he also didn't smell properly. She swung with her wand and made a towel appear, afterwards she handed it to the boy. "Not like I can do anything about it," he said revealing that his voice matched his young appearance, though the tone in them was far more experienced - older - than he looked.

"That'll be true," the woman said, after that she proceeded with introducing herself as Minerva McGonagall. The woman leaded him to another pair of grand doors, these far nicer decorated and opened them for him. The loud sound of the moving doors seemed to have interrupted a speech. Everyone turned to the door, the teachers sitting on the end of the room and the students on four long tables - all fashioned in a different colors. They inspected the sudden appearing of the teacher and - likely - a student.

"Ah! There you have it! The subject I wanted to talk to you all about," the man standing on his speaker's desk pointed at the duo, apparently very chipper. Minerva stepped aside to show everyone that the headmaster was pointing at the boy and not her. "That is professor Okumura, your new teacher of our newest, freshly launched subject: demonology!"

The exciting statement reached no one, so it seemed. No one in the room clapped, and those few students and professors that wanted to quickly stopped when their friends or colleagues did not follow their lead. Everyone was too busy gossiping. After all, it had to be a joke, right?

"But he is barely older than us!" yelled a red-haired guy from the red table.

"Very well noted, mister Weasly, but wrong. I'm sure you'll find out eventually when taking his lessons." Albus Dumbledore smiled knowingly to Rin. "Professor, would you please come join me here and enlighten us about this new part of our curriculum?"

The teen, now introduced as professor Okumura to the students, walked to the end of the large room, towards the headmaster. The kid noticed the ceiling which showed the weather outside, he liked that instantly. It felt... less like being locked up. While passing the blue and yellow tables, he ignored the gossip for the sake of trying to remember what exactly he was supposed to say. 

He took the headmaster's place and stood before the crowd, which stared intently at him. Ready to judge. "Good evening," he started. "My name is Rin Okumura and I'm going to be teaching you all about demonology. It was but a side track of Defence Against The Dark Arts originally. I do believe some demons were intoduced in the last year of Care for Magical Creatures. But by allowing it to be a stand-alone subject, you'll be able to learn more about the demonic creatures inhabiting our plane and ways to defeat and defend yourself against these."

"Like I want to know that!" snorted a guy from the green table. Some people chuckled, while other signed in annoyance.

"Maybe you'd like the skill when a demon attempts to remove the skin of your face? Or, perhaps, could it be you'd let it happen? Frankly, I am of the opinion that it is quite the improvement for some."

People started to laugh at the joke, some slowly warming up to their new professor. Rin, however, remained deadly serious.

" Now, what you all have been waiting for: 'will I have to tackle this subject as well?'. Students of the first and second year are obligated to follow these lessons as a core class. For the years above it will be an elective, it is also possible to take this as an extra-curricular subject. So far, any questions that absolutely cannot wait?"

There were mumbles among everyone, but it didn't seem that one student would actually stand up. Just when Rin was to leave the desk someone gathered enough courage, or amusement, to ask about his age.

The teen turned around and let his head drop to his left side, like a curious cat. Then he smiled his pointy teeth visible, making him look like a bad kid planning mischief. 

"How rude, to ask the age of a lady." 

Leaving the students with more to gossip and wonder about, he went to the free spot on the teachers' dining table - next to a man with filthy black hair - that was made just for him while he was speaking.

"The stage is all yours now, Albus," said the boy before seating himself. 

The principal shushed the students who, again, started mumbling when that young, new teacher had called _the_ professor Dumbledore by his given name like he was an acquaintance. "Now that all the boring themes of tonight are all over with, no offence professor Okumura,"  
("none taken" huffed the teen)  
"it is almost time for us to begin our feast! I welcome you all to a new year learning to are heart's content." He nearly began to walk away, but quickly turned back with the brightest of smiles. "Oh, honestly, one last thing: nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak!" Albus then returned to his own seat.

"Amazing," said Rin, staring straight up, startling some students, "better than everything I've ever heard."

The pale man, with slick, dirty black hair, next to him bowed over to the teen. His face bore an expression of slight worry, for himself no doubt, and hardly noticable amusement. "Excuse me? A habit?"

Rin looked down from the ceiling, his head to the side. "What is?"

"Talking to yourself." The man huffed, obviously annoyed by the slow reaction he got.

Rin chuckled without joy. "Yeah, one I developed over the years, unfortunately." He put on the most dazzling smile he could muster, remebering that he at least had to try to be polite. "I'm Rin Okumura, pleased to make your acquaintance."

The man nodded in approval. "Severus Snape, pleasure is mine. I'm the teacher for the subject 'Potions'."

Before Rin could reply, he was distracted by the huge amount of food that appeared in front of him. His empty stomach loudly demanded some; as said part of him told him to do, he took large portions on his plate. After a couple bites – which landed quite painfully in his emptier than empty stomach – he again turned to Severus, still with a slightly pained complection. "Is it difficult?"

Severus shrugged stiffly, disgusted by Rin's table manners. "Not for those who think radically."

"Then I'll be damned." This time the teen laughed truthfully when he replied. He recalled how much of a failure he was, and is, with all the thinking stuff.

The senior professor's mouth changed into something that could vaguely be associated with a grin. "How about demonology?" He asked with sincere, but quiet, interest. "I must say I'm surprised about your youthful appearance for such a grim subject." 

Rin shook his head. "Hardly. I had a teacher of the age of fifteen and one who claimed to be eighteen. The elder teachers were terrible at their jobs and occasionally tried to kill me," he paused, letting it sink in, "the subject isn't that hard. Though it is very difficult to memorize all chants and mantras, whilst getting physically capable of defeating one as well. That's the hardest part. There are topics in which I'll learn students to tame demons and maybe have them as familiars. I'm sure that Poppy", revering to the Healer and Nurse of Hogwarts, "will be happy to have students know about injuries amd illnesses caused by demons and how to cure them. I'll be teaching that as soon as possible. So beside those earlier two parts, it's all dependable on one's talent, hence the reason it's only obligated to learn for the first and second years. Some are cut out for it, others aren't. I certainly wasn't."

Severus took a sip of his wine, after having shown to Rin how someone should eat tasty dinner with class, and then put it back on the table. He let his thumb glide over the glass, derp in thought. "Then why are you teaching it?"

Rin shrugged. He never really believed he'd be doing this either. "I had no feeling for it, at all. I was terrible in everything, too. But I've studied for years and came to the conclusion that everything can be developed over time. If onky you just have enough time. I'm the one you want people to teach about demons. After all, I have more experience than anyone. Who knows? Maybe I'll be a potion master after following some of your teachings."

The man scoffed amused, highly likely to disagree. After some pleasent (perhaps, slightly awkward) silence, Severus broke it by questioned the age of the teen once more.

"I'm old…" said Rin, absent-minded. "And I forgot about time for a long while, to be honest. I could calculate back, but I have no interest. Besides," he smiled devilishly, "when I say I'm sixteen, people tend to give some privileges. I sometimes have both teen and adult discounts."

Severus tabbed his mouth with a servet, intensely staring at Rin until he did the same. "Could you give me at least a hint, then?"

"See Albus over there?" Rin pointed rather obviously at the man who no one could possibly ever not see. Even by wizard standards, Albus was odd. "I'm old enough to at least be his grandfather."

Wine was stilled over the table when Severus lost what little of it that was in his mouth after the shock. He stared at the teen, seeing him in a new light. "Surely, then, you a demon yourself? I was not aware they could look... human."

Rin raised his hands in mock defeat and nodded. "Some demons, mostly high-level ones I mean, can possess humans and therefore look like them. I happen to be one of those big guys." He lowered his hands enough for him to make a scolding motion towards Severus with his finger. "However, this body is mine. I don't possess it, I was born with it. Please, don't tell others I'm not human, though." 

The pale man simply nodded. It was not too strange for beings other than humans to find their way in Hogwarts. He could, however, not help but wonder one thing. "Why tell me then?"

The demon looked to be taking answer seriously and Severus saw the slim pupils in his blue electric eyes. "I'm not a thief. I pay prices for things I take. I gave you my secret - well, part of it - in return for me knowing the 'dark' part in your past." He emphasised 'dark' so Severus would understand. Even though he would have without it. Rin gave a playful smile, his eyes still snake-like. "You know, secrets are safe in the mind of a demon. But is yours just as secure?"

Severus surprised Rin when he easily managed to compose himself after his imitial look of horror. "It is, easily." He replied sternly, not allowing any doubt to exist.

Rin nodded and smiled kindly.

All too soon came the end of the welcoming-party. When finally all first years began hurrying after their respectable houses, did Albus approach the teen. "Was it to your liking?"

Rin was just as enthusiastic. "It was fantastic! I'm chock-full! Thanks, old man!" 

The professors behind them who heard the exchange looked disapproving, excluding Minerva and Severus. Both of them had agreed with one another, when their gazes crossed, that this matter wasn't important to them. 

Then Rin started shyly introducing himself again to every member of the staff.

"The name's Filius Flitwick, I'm the professor for 'Charms'. Oh, how exciting to meet you, Rin, ehm, do you mind if I call you by your first name? It's something we do, normally, we're all colleges, after all," Rin guessed the small man was equally excited about everything in life, though. 

The demon smiled and shook his hand. Next was Aurora Sinistra, teaching Astronomy. The Herbology professor, Pomona Sprout. Later was Rin approaches by Silvanus Kettleburn, an old lady teaching Care of Magical Creatures, who seemed very interested in the few demons Rin could tell her about in such a short time. She was cut off by Septima Vector, professor for 'Arithmancy'. Talking to the witch alone made the teen dizzy, happy he didn't need to follow her subject. Bathsheda Babbling, professor for 'Ancient Runes', immediately grabbed his hand enthusiastically, speaking to the boy in Japanese. Then a stuttering Quirinus Quirrell, teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, came to him, but didn't snake his hand. "P-pleased to m-meet you, R-Rin."

Rin felt highly unconfortable, his smile looking incredibly forced. "Likewise…"

He then met the staff of the castle.  
Argus Filch, the Caretaker, a sadistic bastard, as how Rin labelled him. Irma Pince, the stern Librarian, Poppy Pomfrey, who he had met one month ago, and Rubeus Hagrid, who seemed ashamed for mistaking Rin for a student. 

The demon took away Rubeus' worries and quickly found himself liking the man. He looked like a fellow who he could have fun with talking to, when he'd eventually be able to understand his heavy accent.

Wishing everyone a good night, Albus began guiding Rin to his very own room, seeing as the latter had no idea how to find the way himself. He also gave the demon a map, saying that he'll need it. And, boy, did Rin believe him.  
The Headmaster waited before entering the room and looked at the teen with mischievous sparkling eyes, causing a foreboding feeling to crawl down the teen's spine. "There's a little surprise inside." He laughed warmly. "Well, I hope it's little now."

Rin raised his eyebrows inbhorror as he opened the door. "Oh no... Albus what did you-"

" _Rin!_ " A high pitch call resonated within the demon. A gigantic mass of black fur was occupying his new room. Two wet, giant yellow eyes looking down on him.

"No… that's not possible…" slowly a smile appeared on the demon's face, his sight quickly fogged up by tears. "No fucking way!" he screamed. He was more than happy to look like a fool and launch himself at the enormous mass of fluff filling the room. How long had it been again since he had last seen his friend...?

" _Rin…_ " A purr loudly started to echo in the room and hallway, the Cait Sìth himself crying uncontrollably. " _Rin... I'm back home…_ "

"Kuro..." Rin did not care how terribly pathetic he sounded whilst pressing his face against the flanks of his most trusted friend. "I missed you so much…"

Albus dried his eyes with a tissue, the bastard probably having specially brought that with him for this scene and inappropriately mentioned how this was more beautiful than when Peeves had hidden his socks and Poppy had found them for him. After that, Albus bowed slowly and uttered a soft 'good night'.

Be damned whoever would not allow these two to catch up. They... had a lot to talk about. But Abus would not be Dumbledore if he did not stop right there and playfully said: "Don't forget: the bathroom is right and exactly through that door. Can't possibly miss them. It's pratically caling for you." 

The teen managed to drag himself away from Kuro and, with is face tainted with tears and his nose red and running, slammed the door close, right to Albus's nose. "Shut up, old man! You stink worse than I do!"

Which was a lie. And they all knew it.


	2. A Teaching Demon

It was the day after that something wet touched Rin's forehead. It was cold and made the demon shudder in his sleep. It had to be rain, Rin thought, as he miserably tried to ignored it and rolled over, trying to get away from it. His mood turned sour and he snarled.

" _Rin! You're getting late!_ "

"Late for what?" he grumbled in response, without realising he actually did so. It's not like he needed to go anywhere.   
He was stuck, trapped, imprisoned.   
And the only think it made him do was think: how would he be spending this day? Will another traveller pass by? No, that wasn't likely to happen, the village close by was long gone after all. Or so he figured, that those people had gained the common sense to leave. 

He could reread that one book... Maybe memorize the Latin names of some Goblins, having remembered all others by now... All the things you'll do when you're bored.

" _Rin! Wake up! Now...!_ " Kuro jumped up and down on his stomach, his claws going in and out to keep his grip. The Cait Shìth was far more enthusiastic than Rin felt when he thought he could go to the dance with Shiemi.

"K-Kuro! You're here? What..." He blinked to get the sleep out of his eyes. Rin shook his head like a wet dog, trying to get rid of the warm blanket of sleep.

" _You'll miss your first day as a teacher, Rin!_ " the Cat Sith smiled bright like only he could. Back to his small form he could almost go for a normal cat, save for his two tails and horns.

Blinking, he took a minute to remember where he was. "Oh yeah..." grumbled Rin, rubbing his eyes. He got up, still wearing the clothes he wore yesterday, his tail dragging over the floor, probably just as tired as the body it was attached to. The day before the demon had talked to Kuro for hours, eventually folded his arms around his familiar and finally falling in a restless sleep. Rin glanced over to his alarm clock. "I'm two hours too early! I could have stayed in bed!"

" _You smell, Rin! Go take a bath!_ "

Kuro settled down on the bed after his words, which he had let out with the bluntness of a bartender.

Kuro had changed over the years, Rin decided, but not too badly. The only thing Rin could actually point out was the fact that the Cait Sìth had become more worried about his friend; very cautious, excepting that one moment of their reunion. But, really, who could blame Kuro. He had lost his beloved humans, Shiro and almost Rin as well. He was perfectly capable of knowing loneliness... Because of this, it seemed, Kuro had ended up crowning himself to be Rin's mother, even though his "child" argued he was more like a babysitter. 

Rin could cry tears of laughter at it. He secretly, Albus would not leave him alone if he knew, loved the Cait Sith to no end, so he was happy to have him back at his side. Kuro had - in hi sleep - curled himself up as close as he could to Rin's stomach, contently purring until he, too, fell asleep. The demon, on the other hand, had put his tail around the small feline to protect him from non-existing danger. 

It was during this moment Rin realized for the first time that the feline was, indeed, older than himself. 

Kuro had been one-hundred twenty-one years old when they first met after all.

"Fine..." Rin smiled, but let out an exaggerating sigh. He turned away from his bed, and Kuro, and walked towards his large closet. There was a some sort of rope or dress hanging in there, probably for him. It was most likely left there for him by the house-elves. He hated the clothing already. 

Mentally flipping the bird to wizard society, he just went in his own clothes. Rin followed Albus's instructions from yesterday and went to the door next to his. On one side of the bathroom were stalls with, probably, toilets inside. Opposite to the toilets there is a large, swimming pool-like tub with bath taps surrounding it. The pool-like bath was build into the floor itself and didn't reach above it. "Oh wow... This is enormous. I could keep a Wadatsumi in this place!" he awed.

"Please don't," grumbled a voice. 

Rin was scared to death by the sudden appearance of another individual, having completely forgotten it was a shared bathroom. 

"No, not there. Over here," said the voice again. 

Rin turned to his left, facing the wall and himself. Well, his reflection, that is.

"Oh, you talk?" asked the demon, disappointed he wasn't surprised by anything at this point any more. Crazy wizards.

"Yeah," answered his reflection in the mirror, who's mouth talked for his own words. Witnessing that resulted in a weird and freaky feeling. "Don't know why they put me in the bathroom, though." 

Rin snickered. "Don't like it here?"

The Mirror simply shrugged.

Rin took the opportunity to get a good look at himself. He wore his long black jacket, with long sleeves and crossed-over bones as buttons. He chuckled in his mind when he remembered the moment he got it from Amaimon, who insisted on being Rin's new stylist. 'You need a better style' he had said with his own signature monotonous tone. 

It was warm, so he had kept it. It had kind of grown on him over time, which he didn't know could happen with clothing.

It was pretty long; it almost covered his legs. He wore his own black pants, which he had been wearing since he got them at True Cross. He hadn't washed either of them in ages, except for the moments they were drenched by the rain, Rin himself along with them. He used one of the tabs to let water _and_ soap come out. He awed at this for a moment, making a mental note to bring Kuro with him once. 

Facing the Mirror again he asked: "is there somewhere I can wash this?" He pointed at his clothes.

His reflection shrugged. "Teachers normally use Jinxes to do such, how about you?"

"I mostly do other stuff… I can't do cleaning with magic. I use normal - Muggle - ways." 

The Rin In The Mirror looked tired. "Then go wash it the bathtub along yourself? But I take you want it to be dry pretty fast, don't you? So you're a bit late now. Should have done this yesterday!"

"I'm able to get that fixed," mumbled the demon as he undressed himself. He looked in the Mirror again and saw that said sneaky bastard didn't undress as well, like he should, as a reflection. 

"You're worse than my second legal guardian."

The Mirror shrugged. "Can't say I'm not. I don't get much action in here, after all."

"Pervert!" huffed Rin.

He stepped in the bath and nearly sunk.   
He grabbed the railing as fast as possible. No way! It was really that deep? Rin was glad there even was a railing to grab a hold of. It's not... He was a good swimmer... It's just that he had to adjust again… 

"A demon that can't swim? You're kin of Iblis?" 

Rin snapped out of it after hearing the Mirror. "Yeah…" he breathed, still shocked by the debt of the tub. He let himself loose and swam around a bit. His tail, free from the restricted area it had, was visible above the surface like some sort of radar.   
He disliked getting his tail wet, but it had to be done if he wanted to stay here for a while. Mephisto always told him he needed to learn some manners, not that he ever succeeded in that.  
Rin knew he had to try even harder, especially now that Albus had given him a spot in Hogwarts, far from the reach of both Gehenna and the Vatican. And, man, was Albus a stickler for etiquette sometimes.

Of course, all the demons in the area did know where to find him. All other magical creatures did too, which was apparently more common than he originally thought. The Headmaster was risking his position and the respect he had earned from everyone in the wizardry world, all for Rin. What parent would allow their students to be taught by a demon?   
Albus had told him that he could tell others about his lineages, students included, if he wanted. It wasn't a secret, he had said. It apparently didn't matter, he would be able to cover for it all. After all, demons were very uncommon to be seen by wizards. Most would be more curious than fearful. Then again, Rin knew just how paranoid wizards were. He himself would rather have it all be kept quiet.

He swam around for a little more, diving under as much as he could, and came out cleaner than he ever had been in his life. Or at least, cleaner than he had felt for a long time. Afterwards, he threw his clothes in the water and washed them thoroughly, ignoring the gaze of the Mirror on his very bare ass. 

He then put them on, still soaked, with some difficulty. Rin breathed in and lit himself on fire, drying his clothes, hair and body at the same time. Letting the flames die out, he looked five times paler and his hair ten times shinier. All the dirt was gone, out of his system.

A loud screeched echoed through the bathroom. "Holy shit! You're Satan!" screamed the Mirror. "I have seen the demon God naked! I have seen the demon God naked!"

Annoyed by the loud singing he snarled at the Mirror. "No! I'm Rin, his current youngest son. God. We don't look that much alike, even!" Strangely comfortable with telling the Mirror about his heritage, Rin started brushing his tail. He hated that too, especially now that he had lots of knots he had to get out, but it needed to stay as flat and hidden as it could.

"He had _another_ one?" the Mirror seemed to find this amusing. Rin just gave him a warning look, saying: "don't think weird things like that!" The demon stood up, ready for his first day. 

"Do you have a name?" he asked the Mirror, surprising himself even. The Rin over there shook his head. "People find me too annoying. I get that, I'm a pervert."

_...He admitted it._

"So, you have none?"

The Mirror laughed. "Nah,"

"Wanna have one?"

"You're going to name me?"

Rin snickered. "You'll get a name from the Son of Satan!" A statement which was met with utter silence. So Rin added: "Who you saw naked…."

"Deal!" said the Mirror as expected.

The Demonology professor mentally rolled his eyes at the predictability. He thought for a moment. "… Are you even male?"

"I'm in the male territory of the bathroom… I better be."

"Ah… yeah, that be true…" He thought one last time. "Want to be called Ewan?" 

The Mirror rolled his eyes, obviously not caring about it. "Sure, I'm okay with everything really. Your ability to name others is basically shit." 

Rin hissed, annoyed. Ewan seemed very happy about it.

The demon left the bathroom feeling the nerves for his first teaching session slowly come up.

Waving at Kuro to come with him for his day. Cats were allowed, after all. Not to class, obviously. But Kuro was a really smart cat. Demon.

After roaming around throughout the castle, using the map incorrectly, they finally arrived at the good place. It was relatively far from other classrooms, and supposedly very disgusting. Rin knew his students were already inside, or late themselves, waiting for him. He sighed. "Let's do this Kuro."

" _Yes! Let's go!_ " he mewled enthusiastically. 

The Professor opened the door, which opened easily, something you wouldn't expect from a room that hadn't been used for quite some time. The room fell quiet, the lingering silent conversations quickly halted.

"Morning, everyone," said Rin and he dropped the books he held on his desk. He gave a quick awaked wave. Kuro jumped on one of the books and seated himself, inspecting the class. He turned around and wrote his name on the chalkboard. "First lesson for all of us, ne? Aren't we lucky!" Some mumbles where heard, none happy. He picked up the list of names and read all of them up, trying to remember which name belonged to which face, already failing miserably.

"Fred and George Weasley…" He snickered and looked to the two boys with red hair. "Twins, I assume?"

"Certainly! I'm Fred and-"

"I'm George!"

Rin raised his eyebrow, afterwards also his nose. He noticed these two last night. The ones who were still singing after everyone had fallen silent. They really did look similar, he chuckled when he remembered how he had noted the difference between them. "No, it's the other way around," he concluded. This seemed to startle the twins.

"No one notices the difference between us!"

"Not even ma!"

"Not even ourselves! You must be a wizard!" The class laughed, or at least, the once with a red mark on their clothes did. He had heard from Severus that the students of the Slytherin and Gryffindor house weren't the best of friends and that he was 'lucky' to have both at the same time for his first class.

After the last few names he started with the real lesson. "Seeing as this is the first time you'll be hearing about demons on a more detailed way, I shall begin with some basic things. Put away those wands, to begin. You won't be needing them," the class let out a long wine, "and grab your pencils. Feathers? Ink?"

Shaking his head in defeat by the oddities of the wizardry world, he drew two circles on the chalkboard. Rin pointed at one of them. "This is the world we live in. Earth, as you all would have called it. Where we live, us humans, is called 'Assiah'." He then pointed to the other circle facing the one he had now dubbed as 'Assiah', which he had written underneath it.  
"This is the universe where demons come from. 'Gehenna'. Demons can cross the border between these world by possessing live creatures, dead ones or objects in Assiah. No human, however, has set a foot in Gehenna and returned alive."

He cleaned the board and started explaining the ranking-system of demons to his students.  
"For starters we have the 'Lower Class' level demons, these are listed from 'mostly harmless' to 'not dangerous'. Some of these will be able to injure you, but not too badly. A scratch at most, really. Or a case of the common cold if they get tricky. A class higher will be the 'Middle Class', these are dangerous. Too dangerous already. Don't pick a fight with them until you've received proper training. Defeating them can be very hard, maybe not too difficult, but definitely challenging. At highest we have the 'High Class'. Don't even try to engage these. As you are now you will die for sure."

"Professor?"

Rin scratched behind his head. "Yes, uhmm, Michael Lump, was it?"

"Yeah. Professor, have you ever fought against a Higher Class?" 

The class tensed up after hearing that question, they seemed to be waiting for an interesting battle description. Anything to keep them from being taught, probably.

"I have. I walked away from it with almost all my organs crushed." Rin hadn't even finished his sentence or the twins started laughing hysterically. "Not funny," he said to the Weasleys, who were still giggling in their hands, thinking it was a joke. Rin added a little smile, though.

He continued: "These are the main three ranks. Easy, right?"

The students laughed silently, hopeful, maybe Demonology isn't all that difficult.

"But there is more," continued Rin. "Some demons that are 'technically' above High Class."

The class grumbled, picking up where they left off. Taking notes is so boring.

He again turned to the board to write down one thing. He erased his earlier notes once more and wrote the greatest threat one could imagine on said board. 'Satan'.

Shivers ran through the Gryffindors and Slytherins when they noted it down as well. Then, a Slytherin raised his hand. "Professor, Satan is a figure in religion. I mean no disrespect, but I don't believe in such. I'm sure I'm not the only one."

"This, has nothing to do with religion. Whether you believe in God, Allah, the Greek pantheon, Celtic pantheon or other, it doesn't matter. I'm not going to tell you what you should believe - no one has the right to, mind you - I'm simply telling you about facts. Satan exists. Whether this demon is the Satan of religion, we do not know. We simply have given him that name. We know he truly does exist because this demon has possessed many over the years and because other demons have confirmed his existence."

The boy seemed to be content with the answer and wrote down what had been said.

Rin continued: "Satan is the king of Gehenna. Though, king is quite the understatement. He is God to demons, nothing less. He is the most powerful demon that ever existed and has ruled his species since the beginning of time. And though I said that he had possessed people, it is not the full truth, he has never fully done so. Satan is the only demon that cannot cross the border between the two worlds, because his powers are simply too great for Assiah to withstand. No human is strong enough to survive being his host for too long. If Satan should finds his perfect host, the world as we know it would be destroyed."

The silence that followed was one of anticipation. They were impressed, surprised and shocked to know that something big like that was right under their noses.

Rin had drawn some lines under his father's name. He tried to make it look like a family tree, but he wasn't sure his students got that. "Make sure to pay attention, this can get confusing. Satan has a multitude of children, known as 'the Baal'. Most call them 'the Eight Demon Kings', however. Lucifer is King of Light, Satan's eldest. His kin, or better known as demons associated with Lucifer are, per example, the Seraphim. These are demons seemingly made of a blinding light. They are able to transmit the voices of messengers and even to explode to damage the target.  
Satan's second child is Samael, King of Time. A Phantom Train is an example for a demon that's associated with him. Phantom Trains are also called 'man-eating' trains, they are Mid-Level demons that possess trains. I know, strange. They 'eat' their passengers by trapping them inside. The prisoners eventually will starve to death, which, due to the Phantom Train, turns them into ghosts. They have the ability to travel between Gehenna and Assiah, even when they are bound to their host."

He took a break to let the students write it all down. He warned them it'd be a lot, the students still grumbled complaints. He patted Kuro and the Cait Sìth purred contently, approving the way Rin was teaching. After a little longer, seeing the teens finish one by one, he continued on.  
"Ghost, most like those in Hogwarts, are also a specimen of demon. They are associated with Azazel, the King of Spirits. Another example of his kin is Mayuko. She was a spirit that haunted the girls' bathroom where I was once stationed. But that's another story. We still have Astaroth, the King of Rot. His kin are: Coal Tar, Naberius, Ghouls and the Impure Family.  
Then, my personal favourite, Amaimon, King of Earth. Famous kin of his are: Goblin, Golem, Snowman, Dökkálfr, Bariyon and Naga. Following, you have Egyn, King of Water. His kin are The Leaper, Kraken, Naiads and Wadatsumi.  
The Peg Lantern and Salamander are associated with Iblis, King of Fire. And finally, there's Beëzlebub, King of Insects, with the Chuchi as example.  
Those are the now known Eight Demon Kings. However, there is a ninth one. No one has classified Satan's Ninth Son in any kingdom. It is said that he possesses the same power Satan wields, the Blue Flames. Pure and perfect destruction. Seeing as people don't have much information on him yet, he is called the Heir. Heir to the God of Gehenna, really. Got all that?"

A female Gryffindor raised her hand. "You said 'my favourite' when mentioning the Demon King of Earth. Have you actually met him in person?"

"I have."

The class gasped, again hoping for a story.

Rin held up his hand and started counting on his fingers. "I have personally met Lucifer, Samael, Astaroth and Amaimon. So, four of the nine. Pretty impressive, if I say so myself. I think Amaimon is my favourite because he didn't beat me up as badly as the others did. Well, Astaroth didn't actually touch me or even got near me, but I still disliked his host. Nasty guy, pigeon killer."

"You fought against him, Professor?" asked Fred, his brother followed-up with a: "That's bloody brilliant!"

Rin grinned like a cheeky boy. "I did and as you can see, I'm alive. I've encountered him four times and won the last one. Though I never really did succeed in ending his life. The ones before were lost by me. Terribly."

"Hmp, so those demon Kings aren't that much of a big deal," whispered a Slytherin to his neighbour.

No one heard it, but of course Rin did. Demons having superior senses and all. He coughed loudly to gain everyone's attention. "Marcus, would you refrain from insulting me in such manner? It wouldn't be wise on't underestimate the Eight Demon Kings, child."

Marcus Termin turned red, embarrassed that he was heard and looked the other way. He seemed to be very concious of being called a 'child' by who looked only two years older.

George raised his hand again. "Professor, what about the Heir? Do you know about his whereabouts? Is he alive?"

The professor grinned. "Alive and well. And yes, I'm aware of where he is currently located. Not that I told or will tell anyone."

Hanile raised her hand. "Why not? Shouldn't he be exterminated then?"

"Absolutely not!" said the demon, sounding angry for the first time. "No demon should be 'exterminated', simply because they are alive. The Heir has done no crime against humanity whatsoever up until now, which is also a reason for why there's hardly any information. The other reason is that the Vatican think he's dead."

Hanile nodded, but did ask: "Why don't you tell them?"

"I hate them, that's why." Short and straight to the point. "If anyone is going to kill the Heir, it will be me, and no one else."

That being said the students left him alone.

"I'm not only going to tell you about defending against and defeating demons, but also about summoning, taming and maybe keep one as a friend."

"Ew! Who would want a demon as a pet?" screamed Mythre, judging from her uniform she was from Gryffindor.

"Who would want you as a girlfriend?" asked Fred.

"Certainly not me," added George.

"Just kidding." Fred said.

"I'm single." George winked.

Rin laughed, highly amused by the twins already. Once he could speak normally again, he pointed at Kuro, who happily noticed that it was his time to shine. He stood up and curled his back. The Cat Sith showed his teeth then licking his fur, content with the looks and stares he got. 

"Show off," accused Rin.

" _They pay more attention to me that they have given you this lesson, though! I'm winning!_ "

Rin sat on his desk, next to his familiar. "This is Kuro. He is a demon a Cait Sìth to be exact. A demon who possesses cats. You might have noticed he was one by his two tails and horns. These particular demons are attracted to warmth... and catnip. Caith Sìth can be ranked from a Mid- to High-Class and-"

"Cute!" exclaimed some girls like a chorus. "I didn't think demons could be cute!"

" _See! I get more fans than you do! Now give me catnip!_ "

Rin rolled his eyes. He directed his eyes to the girls. "He says 'thank you'."

"You can talk to him, Professor?" asked Lee, another guy from Gryffindor. He looked intrigued and happily enthusiastic. Was he some kind of reporter in training?

Rin nodded. "I can. It is possible to communicated with some Middle and Higher Class Demons when they are your familiar. However, you'll need some talent to be able to do such. You're either born with it, or not. I'm not that good at it myself, I can't summon Kuro whenever I want. He, however, ended up accepting me. He follows me around as my familiar. I'm really grateful for that."

Kuro meowed and walked to Rin giving him his paw, gaining lots of "d'aww's" from the students.

"When will we start with familiars?"

"As soon as possible, probably next week already. I first want to kick in with the necessary information. Demons may be helpful, friends and companions. Maybe for life! But don't forget that they can plant doubts in your heart and make you do things you don't want to. Demons are different from humans, many of them far stronger than any of us. They are superior, both mentally and physically."

With that, some more warnings and the great satisfaction of giving others homework – learning the names of the demon Kings and their kin, memorise their abilities, all that stuff – he ended his first lesson. Dismissing the class – after gracefully avoiding questions about his age – he dropped himself down on his chair. He looked to the far end of the room, seeing that it was completely hidden by curtains. Rin sighed, he wished Albus wouldn't put that kind of objects here, in _his_ classroom. But it wasn't like he listened to the demon, not any more that is. He stopped listening after he got that damned beard.

"You did great, Kuro."

" _You too, Rin._ "

A pleasant silence was exactly what Rin needed for that moment, knowing he'd have to get ready for his next class in a short while. Where he'd be explaining the exact same thing again.

" _Uhm… Rin?_ "

"Yeah?"

" _Now get me catnip, yes?_ "


	3. The Price of Curiosity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took my laptop an hour before it opened my word document, and drive immediately crashed. My computer crashed while I was typing this, even. This is the reason for the short chapter I'm afraid. Goodness...

"You want my help with _what_?" exclaimed Rin indignantly. "What has possessed your brain, Albus? Are you insane?"

The Headmaster looked at him from the only sofa in Rin's room with an endearing smile. "I might be, who knows? But the school is saver than any other, you know that." 

Rin stood up and paced across his room. He completely ignored the annoyed mewl Kuro - who was laying down on Rin’s bed, listening intensely - let out when he passed him. 

"It may be relatively safe, but it wouldn't be under surveillance twenty-four-seven. There, in Gringotts, it was. Honestly!" What was Albus thinking, really? The object would have gotten stolen by the end of the for sure. Rin paused, letting his hand run over his face, calming down a bit. "You're worse than I was at your age," he joked. 

The wizard had to chuckle at that. Only a short while ago had Albus explained his ‘little’ plan to Rin. As it was, the demon called it: ‘guarding the preposterous Philosophers' Stone’. 

Here, the most priced artefact of alchemical achievements, kept in secret at Hogwarts. 

Whilst true that the Stone was almost stolen in Gringotts, Rin still doubted the school to be the better option. That old man was crazy, lost his mind in the sands of time, and all other dramatic analogies. 

Again, Rin shook his head, for what felt like the umpteenth time that day. "You're not going to bring back that Stone to that bank of yours, are you? No matter how much I try to convince you of the sheer amount of madness at work here.” He scratched the back of his head, for once, looking like a clueless teenager again. “You sure about this, old man?"

The Headmaster was resolute. "Someone attempted to steal it and that person was powerful enough to get it as well.” 

The demon let out an unamused sigh and smiled. "That Voldemort guy?"

"Presumably."

"There _are_ more effective ways to gain immortality-"

"He just wants a body of his own."

"'Just'? So he is already immortal."

Albus shook his head, more violently than a man his age should do. "No, not like you. For human standards, he is close."

Rin nodded, he understood. Albus had yet to explain the reason why the Dark Wizard was 'immortal' but the demon had a good grasp of what it was. Having spent centuries with reading as the only thing you could do was finally showing to pay off. Also, Mephisto's way of picking the right books helped a lot. Amaimon usually only gave him books like 'how to make candy - for dummies'.

"Now... How would I be of help?"

Albus smiled, like he had expected that Rin would do the job no matter what. "I want you to help me set up traps or barriers for whoever tries to get close to it."

Rin nodded. "A demon, I suppose. High-class?"

Albus looked mischievous. "A low- to mid-class, if you'd please."

“...” The demon let out a confused sound. "Huh? I thought you wanted to guard that stupid thing! If you want to keep it save from getting stolen you need a high-class."

The old Headmaster shook his head. "We already have got multiple barriers set up. I will not allow a high-class to possibly endanger my students. Endanger them too much, I'll allow," he said softly after he felt the wrath of a dirty look that was thrown his way by Rin.

"What is it you're getting at, here? You'll turn into a demon."

He laughed. "No, I'd rather not."

"Sure… sure. It's not like my own situation will turn for the worse because of this. Anyhow, in exchange for my help, care to explain that freaky mirror in my classroom? I looked into it the other day, it was really weird." 

Albus was quiet for a moment, then proceeded to tell Rin about the Mirror of Erised, its history and strange power. 

Rin looked confused for a second, then picked his nose with his pinky, making a painting groan in disgust. "Once again, this plan of yours is weird. Here I was, thinking you wanted this place to be secure. I’d say your methods are questionable in morality. You truly are becoming a demon, maybe I need to hit your head."

Albus stood from the couch he was sitting on, quick on his feet like someone way younger would, and got himself ready to leave. He asked one last thing to the demon: "What do you see, when you look in the Mirror?"

The Heir answered: "Socks, but even prettier than yours."

─────────

Rin was exhausted as he stumbled towards the teachers' table. Stupid Mirror, he grunted mentally. He had been way too curious about it and actually researched the damned thing the entire night! And now, he had lost all interest. I guess it would have intrigued others, but Rin didn't really understand it, so he didn't bother. The demon yawned, so not ready for today.

"Professor!"

He looked behind him, blinking like an owl. It was the Weasley twins.

"Oh, hey, ‘sup, Fred, George." Rin nodded to each, ditching his faked air of professionalism in the early morning.

"We have a question," they stated, maxing eye-contact with each other for a second, looking nervous, "about summoning demons."

"Don't tell me…" began the demon, he narrowed his eyes; he brought his hand towards his head. "You tried it?"

"…No…"

"For Pete’s sake!" the professor hit them both simultaneously in their stomachs with his fists, turning his back to the teacher’s table to make sure they wouldn't see. Some students visibly paled, while most dashed out of the way, completely used to banter between a professor and the Weasleys. They couldn't see the stomp clearly either, after all. "You're lucky that other teachers are here as well, ‘cause I could kill you two!" he growled.

"We're very sorry!" The twins tried to made themselves look as remorseful as possible, which was near impossible. No matter what, they always looked like they were up to something.

Rin couldn't believe that this would have happened. He knew these guys were stupid - well ‘impulsive’ was a better word -, but still! Where had they gotten a book about summoning techniques, anyway? Who had actually written such a thing? Certainly not someone from the Vatican, so the only option was an ignorant wizard. He took a good look at them, a bit concerned, but they didn't seem hurt – besides their pained expression from the hit they got. 

"So you succeeded?"

George looked at his brother and came to the conclusion that the teacher wasn't that angry any more, or at least, wouldn't lash out at them again. "I failed. Fred succeeded."

"What was it?"

"That's what we were going to ask… professor…"

Rin nodded. "You already got rid of it?"

"… That would have been our second question."

The demon chuckled. They must have panicked and had forgotten about further instructions, just like Izumo had once. If that were the case, the twins must have done it this morning, when everyone else had been out of their shared bedroom. 

"Show me." Rin said after he had gathered his thoughts. 

Then the boys proceeded into leading him outside the castle, skillfully avoiding places where some teachers usually strolled around, and directly towards the Whomping Willow. 

"The demon escaped and began hiding near this tree."

"He ‘escaped’?"

"Yeah. Can you get him, professor? We messed up, we know!"

Demons weren't really supposed to 'escape' after being summoned. They served or attacked. Rin looked at the Willow and understandng slowly dawned to him. He walked as close by as he could, without risking being hit by a pissed off tree (bucket-list worthy). He lowered himself as so that he sat on his heels. " **Approach, little one. Thy master awaits hither**."

"Professor?"

"Abyssal," Rin explained. "I speak a little. Honestly, I'm the teacher Demonology. I should be able to communicate with demons at least a bit!"

Then they heard a small growl. The demon crawled away from the Willow and went closer to the Heir, who had addressed him. Some small grunts came out as he tried to answer. The creature looked humanoid, but way smaller and skinnier. He had wings that were connected to him arms and small horns on his head. He had a relatively big nose, but it was flat. The colour of his skin was a dark grey sort of colour. He had a long, thin tail with a fluffy end.

Much like my own, Rin couldn't help but briefly note. Per conclusion, he looked kind of cute. In an ugly way, though. 

"Congratulations!" said the Son of Satan as he picked the creature up and playfully tickled it on his belly. "You summoned an Imp."

The twins were at a loss of words, looking at how easily their teacher was handling the demon. Then: "what's an Imp?"

"A demon that resembles a fairy, possesses wood. In the past they were even thought to be the same creatures. Later they associated an Imp with evil and a fairy with good. They are both pretty fond of pranks and jokes." He tickled the creature again, gaining another high-pitched screech. "These guys aren't all that evil, just disobedient and pranksters. Imps are pretty lonely creatures and often look for others to socialise with, but they are always pushed away due to their, well, hideous appearance. He 'escaped' to help you guys with setting up some sort of trap here, am I right?"

The boys nodded, too amazed to realise that they admitted it in front of a teacher.

"And I summoned it…" said Fred in awe. "I'm a genius."

"Yes," smiled Rin. His smile, however, predicted ruin. "One out of two 'genius' boys with both a month detention and each twenty points taken from Gryffindor!" cooed the demon happily.

"What?" screamed George.

"Why?" exclaimed Fred.

"You summoned a demon," the Heir continued to coo, "even though I said not to. You could have gotten yourself possessed, killed or worse."

"So we get punished for escaping death?"

"Yes!" smiled Rin. Then he was silent for a while. Those two, honestly. Eventually, he sighed. "You know, good job. For summoning an Imp. I suggest to keep him with you for a week. This demon possesses wood, creating with that his body like this. It's not per se a direct danger to humans, so take care of it. Name it, no-" the Professor checked, earning him an indignant ‘eep’. "- him. Or something.”

This exited them as they looked at each other with identical smiles. "But," continued Rin. "I don't want it out of your dorm! He's your responsibility. By the end of the week I want you to bring him with you to my lesson, so we can all take a closer look at your disobedience and see how you handled yourselves. Also, Fred, do you still have the summoning paper you used?"

"Yeah?"

"Tear it to make the demon go away. In case something happens."

"Oh…" said Fred. George hit himself on the forehead. Rin reluctantly handed the Imp over to the twins. "Don't forget, each night at 6 PM in my classroom, for a whole month. Don't forget to eat before coming."

"Yes, professor…"

─────────

" _Best professor,_  
_I saw the Weasly boys mess with the Willow. They said I should call you for explanation. Please visit when you have time._  
_Rubeus Hagrid,_  
_Caretaker, Hogwarts_ "

It was Friday, and the first day he could actually check on that tree. He had corresponded with Hagrid that he'd come somewhere this week. He had been busy with the whole 'teaching' business, and the punishment of the twins. The demon smiled as he remembered the two hours they sat with a Barrion on their laps. 

He looked at his schedule, groaning when he saw the last class he'd be teaching today. 

"Lucky me," said Rin. "Again these two… I really enjoyed teaching Ravenclaw, why can't I have them again?" 

Kuro laid on his desk and purred at Rin's patting. “It's how it goes. Besides, it's only twice a week. I heard Severus has Gryffindor and Slytherin four times a week, so cheer up.”

"Well, I guess you're right…" 

The Potion master had been sharing some meals and exchanged some stories with the demon; even though their personalities drastically clashed, they had - surprisingly - gotten along fine enough for their to be limit bickering. 

As the first years entered "Still a good morning to you all," began Rin. He grunted and stood up. "First lesson for Demonology, yes? The last class I've yet to meet." No response came, not even one sound. Rin tilted his head to the side. "Which subject did you have before this?"

"Potions," said a boy with light blonde hair.

"Ah," said the demon, ‘cause that _did_ explain the foul mood descending in the classroom. 

He picked up the names of this class and read them all. This time from down to up, he was bored after all. He smiled inwardly when he read 'Weasley, Ronald' and silently wished he wouldn't be as much of a pain as his brothers. Then, for some reason, the Slytherins started to chuckle when he read 'Potter, Harry'.

"Did I mispronounce it? My accent?" he asked the raven haired boy. Rin hadn't really had any trouble with it before, lucky, even though Minerva did point out to him that some of his pronouncements were a bit off.

"No," Harry said. He stared challenging straight at Rin, as if he was daring his professor to say anything. At first Rin was worried he had bumped into the kid once in the hallway and said something to tick him off, but that didn't appear to be the case. The Slytherin students continued to sniffle when he tried to continue. Being quickly pissed off as he was, Rin walked towards the chalkboard. He held his nails on it and scratched them down, creating the most horrible sound imaginable. Kuro was heavily offended and left the room with an annoyed sweep with his tails. 

"Everyone quit it!" Rin growled. "It's the end of the week for me too. Don't get on my bad side!" 

Silence. 

"Good. Feathers and papers in the ready? Let's go." He told them the same he told the third years, in less detail. So far, they didn't need to know the Demon Kings' kin just yet. Other than some interruptions and perfect answers from Hermione Granger nothing interesting happened.

Remembering the ‘Weasley predicament’ he looked each and every student straight in the eyes, as cold as he could muster. "Don't you guys dare summoning a demon. If _it_ didn't already, _I_ will kill you."

For once he was thankful for his superior hearing around these loud brats. Rin could make out some hushed comments from everyone. 

Then, among the expected complains, he heard the distinctive voice of Ron Weasley. "Don't worry, I'm sure he's not going to kill anyone. According to Fred and George, though, he was a demon himself when he had found out about their demon summoning. Apparently he's merciless."

"Yeah," said Harry Potter, nodding furiously, "he used demons on them for their detention, too, didn't he? He's really temperate. Are we gonna be okay?"

"Of course! He's still like a loose McGonagall. He's totally wicked!"

Now, that did wonders for his mood, as one could imagine. Rin had thought the elderly lady to be endearing. He would bet she was a great cook too. 

Draco raised his hand, a smug smirk on his face. "Professor, you still haven't answered the question about your age, yet. Are you really even allowed to teach?"

Some students gasped or hid their faces at the rude display. 

Rin tilted his head again, hardly faced. “Am I supposed to? I prefer to be an enigma…"

"And what about your relationship with the Headmaster? Father says that no one calls him by his given name, except those who've worked for him for a long time. Are you a relative?"

Rin grinned wide, exaggeratedly showing his teeth."Well, Draco, me and Albus are lovers."

Everyone fell silent, excluding some nervous giggles. Draco ears turned bright red, flabbergasted. "What?"

"It's a joke, learn to recognize one." The class let out confused mumbles, some definitely not getting it. Rin rolled his eyes. "Come on now, on to the homework assignment."

─────────

"Thanks-a-lot for the help, prof. Yer a good guy. Dun be too hard on d'boys, though, they' good kids." 

Rin took a sip from the way too strong tea as he sat on a loveseat, appearing to have been in Hagrid's possession for quite some time already. 

"Probably," he replied. 

The Willow seemed to be just fine as it was, despite the demon’s pampering with it. It was just that Rubeus was worried when he saw the Weasleys with some creature that he had called Rin. The caretaker had apologized for the trouble, but it didn't matter to the demon. He didn't have much to do other than correcting homework, and he still had the weekend to do that. He wasn't procrastinating, of course.

"t'Is good to see ye a bit more relaxed, prof, ya seemed so tensed when ya arrived."

"I was," sighed Rin. "I'm inexperienced and everything is new to me. Ah, it's okay to call me 'Rin' by the way. After all, I call you ‘Rubeus’."

The man seemed to appreciate that, especially because to him Rin seemed years younger. He appeared to remember something suddenly, as he pointed towards the demon with his thumb. "I haven't seen yer wand yet, Rin. You dun carry 't around?"

"Nah, I don't have one. I'm an exorcist, no wizard."

"Yer a Squib?" asked the gigantic man.

"Well, no. I can use magic, probably, but - you know - never had a wand, no real interest. Ya know." Rin laughed nervously as he scratched the bank of his head. He may be a full-demon (or, rather, as full-blooded as he could get) but a straight out lie to such a carefree and honest man still appeared to cripple him. It was because of a reason he usually stuck to jokes instead of lies, after all. 

Luckily for him, Rubeus was very gullible, or he genuinely didn't really care. Either way, Rin was relieved. He may or may not have to deal with that at some point, his wandlessness. But, well, that had been no lie, he really had no real interest. Rin thought it (waving a stick around prouting some nonesense words) would make him look un-cool.

The man indulged in some talk of his job. Being a caretaker apparently also meant he had to care for the creatures in the Forbidden Forest, of which he tried tell Rin a bit about until he was interrupted by some soft knocks on his wooden door.

"Oh, lost me sense o’ time. Sorry, Rin, I was expected som’ore company."

So Rin quietly stood up and readied himself to leave, giving a quick thanks for Rubeus’ hospitality.

"Yer no trouble, Rin, come over som'time to talk about demons, yea?"

Rin chuckled and opened the door to leave, staring into the garden before he realised he had to look down. He did not expect Ron and Harry to be there. 

"Professor Okumura?" Harry said, obviously not expecting him either. 

"Yes, that's me. I see it's you two who are chasing me out. Oh well. Have a nice weekend, Ron, Harry, don't forget the pile of homework I gave you." Waving cheerfully, he wished them a pleasant afternoon. 

_I_ certainly will, Rin thought, as he gazed towards the Forbidden Forest. He figured it was about time to explore.


	4. A Brief Look Into The Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Watching all the kudos on my work brings me such satisfaction, I'm honestly very thankful you guys appear so enthusiastic.  
> Thank you all, I mean it.
> 
>    
> WARNING: Slight mention of past attempted suicide in this chapter. It is only one sentence, really, hence me not adding it to the tags, but I'd rather point it out than regret it later.  
> P.S.: Did you notice the warning: graphic display of violence? I just added it. It applies heavily to this chapter, please be warned.
> 
> Keep your eye on my additional tags nonetheless, dears!

It really is bigger than one would think, thought the lone teen as he looked upon something that once a large building represented. Yes, time had not been kind to this place. 

"The home of the Heir," he mumbled. "Finally!" 

Albus walked slowly, looked around and took out his wand. He passed untamed vegetation and unattended flowerbeds. This place used to be beautiful, he thought briefly, until seemingly out of nowhere, the grass suddenly stopped, like creating a border to the barren fields. From that point on no more life grew on the land. It was dead. 

Did the demon's presence cause this? Albus couldn't help but feel his excitement grow, surely this trip would be worth his time. He simply stepped inside the ruined building, raising his wand. 

"Lumos," he said, but he kept his voice down. With the new found light the teen could search the rooms in more detail, hoping to find clues on the demon's current where-about. He walked around in the crumbling structure, careful to not make mistakes in his steps. 

Then he saw it.

Fire. Blue fire! 

He rushed to the room which undoubtedly was in the centre of the building, seeming to have been some sort of living-room. Albus was so thrilled that he almost started to smile. But then his jaw dropped. Whatever creature that was there, it was not what he expected it to be. Far from it.

"You already went and entered, be even more rude and come here. That light of that piece of wood, doesn't let me get a good look at you..."

Was it a mere child? No, it appeared older. In its late teens, probably. Nonetheless, this creature seemed younger than Albus. So, it wasn't the demon they had been looking for? The Heir of the throne of Gehenna, the Son of Satan. It couldn't be _that_ , right?

A raspy gurgle. "Well, it _is_ me, Albus Dumbledore. What an uncool name." 

Albus gulped at that. Not only did the demon know his thoughts, he was aware of his name, too. This could prove itself to be quite the predicament, for the demon was clearly capable of some similar power close to Legilimency.

"So you're really it, then. The Heir?"

For a short while it was silent, before it began to laugh hysterically. Like madness did not have a definition before the Son of Satan had made its appearance. No dictionary could describe this feeling of being utterly _lost_ , a state undefined by mere vocabulary. 

After calming down it spoke again and, just as the times it had before, Albus noted that the act of speaking was causing it great discomfort. As if it was hurting it to talk, which it probably did. His speech reminded Albus of a lion's growl, like the mascot of the household he was sorted into and loved, in a distorted, funny way. 

"Aw, have you have been looking for me?" 

Albus allowed himself a brief moment of celebration at that. They'd done it. Together they had finally founded the Heir, an achievement not even met by the Vatican itself. He allowed himself to quickly scan the room and now Albus clearly saw the signs he had been told to to look out for in their search for the demon. The circle around the creature, on the floor, being the most conspicuous one. According to the information they had obtained it was that circle alone which kept the demon sealed, a feat not to be brushed off. 

Convincing himself that the Heir really could not move, Albus felt a bit more confident. Reassured, Albus stepped forward and let himself be looked at by the creature. Now that he was removed from the annoying slight ray of sunlight in his eyes could he, too, take a better look at the almighty demon in front of him.

It nearly made the wizard vomit at the spot.

It had wounds all over itself, his hair too long, nails too long, some broken, some completely gone. Teeth, also too long, even for a carnivore. Despite all that its eyes were intense, awake, intelligent. An extreme shade of blue that did not exist in any picture nor painting. Its pupils were slimmer than a cat's in clear daylight, slightly red around them. Looking beyond its face you could see its bones sticking out its sides - could be seen through the tears in his clothes, even. Said clothes were dirty, torn and bloody. The demon wore a (once) white shirt and black pants with chains on the sides, like a rebellious teenager would have worn. Scars and open wounds on his neck showed failed attempts to take away its own life, with its own bloodied claws. This demon did not only define madness, but appeared to be suffering from its result as well. Its body was pierced by three large spears, crafted with extreme detail and complicated symbols, impaling it to the ground. The blue fire in front of it burned on nothing and did not seem to serve a purpose on the first glance. 

Too shocked to speak, Albus was quiet. He had disturbed something bad, hadn't he? Maybe he shouldn't have come to begin with. This couldn't possibly be what they had been looking for. 

The demon narrowed its eyes and looked at Albus uninterestedly. "You came all this way, just to stare at me?"

No. Albus needed to pull himself together. _Come on!_ he thought. _Remember why you came here! This_ will _help you reach your goal!_

Determined once more, he took even more steps ahead and looked down on the creature with a false looking haughty grin. Demons apparently hated weakness, so Albus had to try anything to not show it. His first attempt: fabricated superiority. Even in his own thoughts, it looked and sounded stupid.

"Book after book after book, I had to work through years of build-up dust to find something worthwhile in order to find you.”

The demon's expression did not change, but its eyes began to look more and more like a dead fish’s, its previous intensity lost, as if it just simply couldn't be bothered to keep up his display. "To search for something you'll never reach. Is that called determination now?"

"Well, I did find you." Albus’s grin straightened itself to a narrow line. "There was something I needed to talk to you about. I'm sure we could be of use to one another."

“You seemed to have deluded yourself..." It paused mid-sentence. After waiting for it to speak more, Albus figured had wanted to say more but _couldn't_ anymore.

"No, I haven't." Albus clenched his fists. He thought of his companion, waiting for some good news at long last. Unconsciously, he took a step forward, desperate to make an impression. “I'm sure there are things I could do to benefit you, in exchange for your help.”

The demon's eyes began to lid, as if falling asleep. "Is that so...?"

Albus thought of his sister’s misfortune when he looked at the demon… Shaking his head he hardened his resolve. Albus took some steps, closing in to the demon carefully. "It is said it took a hundred men to seal you here, and that it would need a hundred again to release you. I'm no weakling myself, I can assure you, so maybe, I _could_ find a way to undo this seal. With magic the Vatican cannot and hasn't used." 

So, yes, this was essentially a bluff. They hadn't really planned to let the demon go free. In fact, they had both agreed it was actually a bad idea. But Albus needed the demon’s cooperation for their plan to work, so perhaps their original agreements needed adjustments. 

Now a small smile appeared on the damaged face of the creature. "And why would you?"

Albus cleared his throat, a flash of his parents past smiling faces before resolutely pushing the long-lost memories away. “I've got a goal to reach. No matter what."

Actually, now that Albus thought about it. It was strange for him to be so sentimental all of a sudden. His eyes were even tearing up. Frustrated, he removed his glasses, head down and away from the demon to rub his eyes in private. When he opened them again he felt all colour being drained from his complexion.

Had he always been that close near the seal? All of a sudden, Albus felt really cold.

"Well, can't even do that right, can I? Man, what a disappointment... " The eyes of the Heir closed after its sighs. It lost its footing and seemed to collapse further into the spears, forcefully reopening some of its wounds. "And I was... so close, too".

The demon did not open its eyes any more after some final owlish flickers. It laid on his bed of torture, half in the air and a useless bloodied arm hanging down, fingertips reaching the ground.

Albus looked mortified. "You're dead?"

"Idiot."

"You're immortal."

"Shit, what gave it away?" it responded sarcastically.

This demon. It truly was a powerful one. Even in this severely weakened, near lethal, state did it possess a human, Albus himself, who was no weakling may everyone be reminded, just enough for him to almost unknowingly walk straight into the circle, undoubtedly causing whatever damage he couldn't undo. Just a bit more and the Heir would perhaps have had a chance to be free again. Albus felt all the hair on his corpus stand up as the realisation of what transpired hit him hard. He could have _died_ right there, without accomplishing anything.

He looked at the demon once more, with wary, suspicious eyes. Never would he allow himself the carelessness of being off guard near the Heir again. Was it out of strength? It did look like it.

"I need you to answer some questions," he tried in vain. 

The Heir didn't move, nor did it reply. Albus tried a couple times more, but it soon deemed futile. It didn't seem likely that the Heir would speak to him again today. He checked his pocket watch and decided it would probably be best to retreat for nom. 

And so, the first day after meeting the demon came to an end. 

Albus turned around without a word and left.

─────────

He walked away from Hagrid’s cabin, leaving Ron and Harry who slowly went inside, their eyes following him curiously. Rin entered the forest feeling the most free he'd been since last Sunday. He looked around, excitement building up inside him when he saw no one. As if to test his legs, he began to jog for a while before sprinting fully, laughing silently and jumping over branches and rocks. 

"Who's he, father?" A small voice carried by the wind make Rin stop in his movements and start his brain up again, which he had shut off accidentally. (Hey, he hadn't fallen asleep during his own lecture, give a guy some space). Surprised, he settled at the top of a tree and listened to the words, that were oh so obviously about him. 

"The future master of the dark ones, child, the stars foretold. Look, he stilled. Go forward and greet him."

"Father, I don't know..."

So, they were called Centaurs, right? And his arrival was foretold in the stars? Rin frowned in confusion and jumped down, landing in front of the huge creatures. Even though one of them was a child, he still reached above Rin. God, the Heir felt insignificant compared to them. If only he were a bit taller he wouldn't feel so out of place... The smaller Centaur yelped and hid behind his father. He shook his head at his son and stepped forward, he bowed before the Heir of Gehenna. Rin waved his hands in order to stop him, like, even when the Centaur bowed he was _still_ taller than him. This guy was particularly huge! 

"Ah, no, really, bowing isn't necessary. Can't say I mind, though," he joked, his face flustered. He held out his hand. "I'm Rin. You are?" 

The Centaur straightened himself. His skin was tanned, his hair both on his head and that of his lower body was chestnut brown. Rin figured he'd be handsome for Centaur standards, as he saw the man being quite muscular. His son seemed to have inherited the same appearance, though not as well trained yet. "I'm Rorran. And this is my son, Fallend. We greet you into our forest, fellow 'Beast'." 

The demon tilted his head, desperately digging through his memories for that name. "Oh yeah, I have heard of you. You protected your species' pride by labelling yourself as 'Beast' instead of 'Being', correct?" 

The man hit his chest with his fist, probably a gesture of grandeur and honour. "We would never allow ourselves to be compared to vampires and hags. At the very least, we are on pair with humans, but instead they label us with 'near human intelligence', the ignorance. We pleaded our case through Grogan Stump, who's help we appreciate."

"Humans don't like that idea of being equal," said Rin. "Demons have tried dealing with the same problem once, I think. Well, we obviously never achieved anything. Can't say demons are completely blameless for that one, though."

"Idem for our side as well. Fools who allow their minds to be clouded. They ruin so much more for their own people than they ever would want to realise." 

Rin shrugged. He then looked at Fallend. He held out his hand for him, too, a bright smile on his face. "Rin," he introduced himself again. 

Shocked by suddenly being pulled into the conversation did the young Centaur freeze for a while, then he shook Rin's hand. "Fallend, son of Rorran."

"Your father is a good man, honour him well, Fallend." He looked at the elder, making a weird gesture with his hands to indicate he had to go. "It's a good meeting, Rorran, but if you'd please allow me to take my leave..." 

The centaur lowered his head. "As you wish, I shan't keep you. May our paths cross ones more, for your intentions with this forest is pure. But may I request not to bring humans in these parts, we loathe them and - may they be warned - our arrows are sharp." 

Rin bowed slightly to them both, then he ran off.

He did not particular mind, talking to Centaurs, but they were just weird. Though Fallend seemed all right, as a youngster he wasn't accustomed to the adults' formality he supposed. Rin was glad he had been able to leave before Rorran started talking in that typical Centaur-like way that even made him confused. Normally, this is not a problem. But Rin simply couldn't even keep up with most humans most of the time, let alone philosophical Centaurs. Rin shrieked out of his daze and stopped running, he had reached a very tiny lake; he nearly ran straight into it.

He gazed into the water. _It's muddy_ , Rin thought, _but I shouldn't be picky_. The demon sat down, took off his shoes and threw them away. He lowered his feet, slightly tender and red from all the running and jumping, in the cooling water, while he still tried to ignore the mud.

Then he heard some growling. Wolves.

Rin lied down and relaxed. The wolves in the Forbidden Forest were special, apparently. They were descendants from two werewolves mating during a full moon, so they seemed to possess more strength and higher intelligence than most average wolves. And, hopefully, a bit more brains.

He closed his eyes. 

Yes, he felt far more at home out here than at the castle. All those years, all alone in that place, with only the damned spears and his own flames to keep him company most of the time. 

He had truly lost a portion of the humanity he used to desperately cling to, hadn't he? 

_I do wonder how I must look like to you now, Yukio..._ The demon breathed calmly, but did open his eyes and looked at the sky - which was hardly visible due to the trees - in distress. He gulped at the thought of his brother's name. 

_And here we are, having become everything we promised we wouldn't. Hey, Yukio, did you end up having kids? Did you sacrifice personal happiness and become a Paladin? That would sound like you, for sure. Heck, did you even get married? You didn't die at the hands of some demon in the end, did you? And what ever happened to_ _them? I bet Koneko and Shima forever nagged at their BonBon. Last I knew Shiemi, Izumo and Paku ended up getting along. Did their friendship last long? And what about Shura? Did she end up getting married too? I bet Angel became a melancholy old man. Nonetheless, I can only guess and talk to myself about it. I just hope, that this wasn't what you wished for to happen._

He blinked. Again. Again. Then he stood up, his arm rubbing over his cheeks and eyes.

Running was better than lying down and _thinking_ after all; so he did just that.

─────────

Albus returned to the Heir's prison once more; he took precautions this time. Gellert had told him about a Muggle defence against demons, right before he had left. 

"It probably won't be useful, but I know you'll hold your own anyway," he said. 

Of course Albus would. When hadn't he ever? Except for the last time, perhaps. 

The 'defence mechanism' had turned out to have been nothing more than a piece of paper. It did have a very complex circle drawn in it, maybe a bit similar in design to the one of the seal, but it didn't seem very powerful. He doubted it would be effective, but luckily there was still the big circle that was put around the Heir, which seemed to work just fine. 

Before having left the first time he had drawn a copy of it and had shown it to his friend. Gellert had been surprised, saying that he'd never seen it before. For the both of them, that was quite unusual. 

To Albus' explanation of almost being possessed did he respond in actual joy. So it was the demon they were looking for after all! Now they could finally fulfil their dreams. 

Or so they thought. 

The question if the demon would even help them remained. It was obvious what it wanted: freedom, but neither of them could give it, after all. The Heir would become a danger to all of the wizards, as they concluded that their magic had little to no effect to the creatures at all. 

Albus took a deep breath and slowly walked in again. He'd play it safe, so he announced his presence to the demon in advance by calling out the moment he entered the building, strangely filling his nose with a sweet-sour metallic scent and taste. No responds came, however. Which was fine, at least did it not intend to send Albus away, for now. 

The sight of the demon itself was, again, horrible. But this time around the demon was clearly awake, watching Albus with a sharp and clear vision. This shocked the latter. It had been quite the difference from ‘nearer to death than life’ state of yesterday.

"Albus! You humour me with your presence again today. Aw, won't you tell me more of your stories?"

It was definitely different, like it had been revived. It talked without problems, no trouble breathing. Even though his lungs were still pierced, no less than yesterday, he talked like he was alive and kicking.

"Hey, why are you hesitating now?"

"You seem far better than last time we met."

"..." It looked unsure for a split second. “I guess because I just ate.”

Following the gaze of the demon, did Albus finally notice the source of the smell. A corpse was lying right next to the demon.

Albus stumbled back, nearly letting out a scream. It was just a little boy!

It possibly couldn't have been older than seven years of age, and yet did he seem way too aware of the cruelness this place harboured. His eyes were spread open, crying blood, while his mouth was torn away from the jaw down. The colour of his hair was no longer visible due to it having been burned away entirely, hardened blood on some unburned places on his skull. The remaining of his corpse was also covered in burns, the parts that were missing had ended up in the demon's stomach without a doubt.

Albus looked at the Heir with new found fear "In such a beast like way…"

The demon looked like he was… ashamed? "It's not like I've got any other option, you know? It's what I am. 'Sides, your Department, or whatever, labelled demons as such, no? 'Beasts' are what we are."

The teen felt bile come up. He swallowed. "Why?"

Anger flashed in the demon’s eyes. “And why would you care? He was but a mere Muggle to you, right?"

"…"

It humourlessly chuckled. "Humans are actually pretty simple creatures, you know." Then he went quiet, a frown on his face, as if mentally beating itself up for having said that. "I was once one of you. Just as weak, really, if not weaker. Just as simple and mindless. I honestly want to go back to that instead of who I current am. How much do you wish to be human, Albus? I bet you don't at all. You just want power, more than anything. To rule, to be superior. You earned it, you say, you have been the best of the best, after all. You and Gellert, a couple of brilliant wizards."

Albus looked nervous. How did the demon know about Gellert? Had Albus accidentally mentioned him yesterday? Not that it particularly mattered, it would have found out about Gellert one way or another, it still was a reason for concern. 

“Why did you not use the boy as a replacement?"

It truly looked confused. "Replacement?"

"To seal him up instead of you. Like what you tried with me."

"You thought I'd make you a replacement for me? That's not how seals work, they're personal, yaknow? The demon rolled his eyes. “You can go now, really. I'm shooing you out. You're totally uncool,” honed the demon.

"Not without answers!"

"So you actually did come here with a reason?"

“You were right. We want power to rule. Wizards have been hiding for far too long, you must be aware of this. For too long have we humoured the Muggles, but for what reason? They can't do anything right! They start wars as regularly as rain that falls down, eating away the life of the very ground we protected for them. They burned us without reason, blamed us for nature and human disasters. It's not a matter of hatred at this point, they’re unfit to rule no matter how you look at it. Wizards are, however, prove themself suitable. Us, who have been discriminated for centuries, wizards are aware of the world's ruin and should have the room to fix it. We could guide the Muggles to greatness again. We possess knowledge and greatness no other knows. We – I – wish for your strength to give us that push to realize this dream. Grand us the powers of Gehenna and we will let the demons join our struggle. We could even renew the name of all demons, too. We will make it so they're all accepted in the world. For the sake of surviving, for the sake of unifying everyone, to allow _everyone_ , Muggles and wizards and witches, to live without fear, please, help us in our revolution."

Again, silence. The Heir looked at Albus without any change of expression. It was amused, interested and excited. "You're doing this because your sister was ruined, aren't you?"

"What?" yelped the wizard, as if struck. "This has nothing to do with that!"

Of all the answers the prince of Gehenna could have given. He knew that as well?

"It doesn't? Tell me, oh wizard, Albus Dumbledore, why else would you 'guide” the Muggles." The demon pointed at the corpse of the boy. Its arm was pierced and couldn't move, but its wrist seemed to be able to move in a seemingly impossible angle, creating a horrible cracking sound. 

"See? A Muggle corpse. It's ugly, isn't it? But, no, you wouldn't look any prettier. This boy, however, could have grown out to become a hero. A simple man, doing incredible things. Wizards, witches and Muggles are born with this equal opportunity. Maybe you harbour more power than this boy, but your organs, your insides, your blood, meat, bones, it's all the same. Why would you place yourself above your own kin, Albus. Sure, they make mistakes, but look at what you are doing now yourself. Aren't you just trying to start a war for personal gain? Sickening, Albus. You and Gellert. Leave."

And so did the demon prince cast away the wizard. But, the Heir would come to see Albus again. The latter having grown older, but not too much wiser. Albus would beg the demon for support once more, but this time in actual desperation. Once again, would the demon initially refuse his pleads. He kept on rejecting Albus' offers until finally a deal was struck. From the contact the demon would get what he was send back for. 

But, for now, the demon stared at the dead boy next to him, Albus having left. 

“I could have been you. So curious and naive, following a strange teen into an abandoned structure. But no one came back for you, did they? Were you hated too?” The demon forced his eyes to look away. “At least you made for a statement to Albus He might realise his dreams are bound to fall in ruin, now. Ne, what do you say?" it asked, as if the boy would genuinely voice his own thoughts at the whole predicament.

But the dead don't speak. So neither did the boy. He still continued to look at the Heir with empty eyes pleading for his life. Until blue flames burned it all away.

No matter what kind of a monster Rin now was, he still couldn't cope with guilt.

─────────

"Be quiet already! Leave the Imp alone!" Rin hit his desk with a crack of loud protest of the wood. 

The class got quite the scare after seeing their professor's desk. Did it just... crack? After hitting it? They nearly ran towards their tables, leaving the Weasley twisn alone in the middle of the room. They were too busy playing with their Imp to care about the commotion, which annoyed Rin to no end. He opened his drawer and took out a linear, which no teacher used for the life of them any more, because magic. He threw it down on the table next to where the twins were standing. A yelp was heard from the poor Gryffindor that was sitting there. "Hand overthe Imp, now. Sit down you two."

"Yes, professor!"

He regretted to let the newly summoned demon of Fred appear in his class at this very moment. Hell, he regrets trying to introduce the idea of being a Tamer to the classes at all! 

Holding the Imp in his hands, Rin looked at him with a critical eye. The Imp appeared to be doing well, it seemed to be taken care for in the right way, cleaned after properly, fed the right substances. "Did you guys name him?"

"Yes, we did. His name's Pipkol."

The class began to laugh. The Imp, sensing that he was being ridiculed, screeched in anger. Rin patted him so that he would calm down. "Why Pipkol?"

"He chose it himself, you know," huffed Fred. "We wanted to name him something cooler, but he really wanted it himself."

"Like he did it himself, dumbass!" hissed a Slytherin. The Heir walked over and gave him a small whack on his head. "Don't underestimate the intelligence of a demon. How'd he make clear that he wanted to be called 'Pipkol'?"

George answered. "It was the first sound he made, we think he imitated it from one of our... projects, and each time we tried giving him a name he'd scream 'pipkol' again." 

The professor blinked and then began to laugh loudly, soon running out of breath. He sat the Imp down on the boys' table and went to his own desk. He smiled at Kuro, who purred at his friend's good mood. "That sounds like an Imp, all right! I approve of the name, it fits."

"Pipkol!" screeched the small demon as he clawed over to Fred like an oversized baby. "Pipkol!" he screeched again. 

Some kids started whispering amongst one another. "If it wasn't that ugly, you'd almost say it's cute!"

"Well then! Let's start my lecture about Imps. Later I will tell you all about Taming. I've decided I'd let the third years do that, instead of later, seeing as I cannot go back now" he stopped and let the class cheer in excitement before making them shut up again, unhappy. "All right. About Imps. They are low – to – mid – class. A demon that resembles a fairy. In the beginning people even thought they were the same creatures, seeing as they both like pranks and mischief. Imps are pretty lonely creatures and try to socialise all the time. They get pushed away due to their hideous appearance, however. Imps possess a little magic. Usually they use it to make things float, fall down or break spontaneously."

"Yeah," sighed George.

"We noticed," said Fred.

"Even though you might be their Tamer, they might not always listen. You'll have to express enough control over the demon, without putting yourself at risk. Which is one of the most difficult skills to possess."

─────────

"Well, then Kuro. How was your weekend now? I didn't see you at all," asked Rin after the class left, they felt terrible because they had a lot of homework to do for their next lesson to begin the Taming subject. He sat up from his comfy lying position.

" _I went around to explore. I found no demon within the grounds either, like you. I feel a bit lonely. I kinda like Pipkol, though, so can I make him my servant?_

" joked Kuro. He jumped up enthusiastically. " _Hey, how about we start with running every night? Bet you're lonely too. And how about we go hunting for deer in the forest, too? You know, like all the sportive guys who fish. Catch them and then release them._ "

"I have a lot of work to do, you know," but Rin was smiling. "Besides what about that one demon we need to arrange? Don't you think Albus is being a bit weird about it?"

" _I don't know him as well as you do, yet. And I suggest a very imposing low-class. Like Pipkol. Imps can be a scary after all. Someone to scare the shit outta intruders, but not as powerful. Just like Albus wants._ "

"Sounds good. I'll go look around in some books, which I hate myself for already. Filius gave me one. It was one of the thick ones he uses to stand on while teaching," laughed Rin. 

He gave one more glance at the curtain covering the Mirror. Really, Albus was up to something again.

Then the door opened again, students reluctantly getting ready for another lecture, and the demon prepared himself for teaching another class, not quite resisting a yawn.

_Yukio, your job is tough!_


End file.
